<p>The Bell’s Palsy could be the result of inflammation. Our daughter had it when she was young (we suspect some kind of bite) and they prescribed the same thing.</p>
<p>I was prescribed Vicodin but didn’t fill the prescription as some OTC stuff was good enough. The pain came in waves and sometimes would be stronger and then weaker. One thing about the extraction: my dentist warned me that it could result in the Bell’s Palsy which is one of the reasons why I went with the root canal.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I am quite acquainted with BP. This is my third case. The first two times were biltateral, and I never fully recoved. In what way is BP related to an extraction?</p>
<p>The dentist said that there’s a facial nerve that runs near the roots of the teeth and that an extraction can damage it. He said that it usually heals up in a few days if it is damaged. I thought that extraction was relatively risk-free but he gave me a list of the risks of extraction (there were two). I chickened out and went with the root canal. Mine was painful too. He only gave me two shots. I probably needed four or five. My own dentist has a much better delivery system for novacaine than the root canal guy. It’s a little hook with a plastic tube.</p>
<p>I’ve lived with damage on that side of my face for 30 years, so no big deal there. It’s true that messing with that area can cause damage. But last night, I felt like Tom Hanks in “Castaway” – give me an ice skate and a rock and I’ll take care of the damn thing myself.</p>
<p>Update: X-rays show a bacterial infection in the bone beneath the tooth where I had my root canal last year. Has it been there the whole year, or is it something new? Not sure, but I’m on yet another antibiotic and am beyond relieved that I don’t have to have another root canal. Ironically, if three weeks of this antibiotic doesn’t clear me up then we might have to extract the tooth.</p>
<p>Maybe they didn’t get everything in the root canal. Where else would the infection come from? It sounds like it would be easier to redo the root canal. They’d just have to take out the filling and get rid of the stuff that was missed. Sometimes I wonder if they could seal off the hole that goes into the bone. I guess that an extraction is the ultimate answer but this isn’t a molar and so you’d have to do some reconstructive work which probably wouldn’t be a lot of fun either. I hope that I’m not back here in a year with the same problem.</p>
<p>Well, not having gotten everything last year is a possibility. I do remember distinctly being on a round of antibiotics before the procedure. The root canal went deep; part of the pain of it was they actually did it twice to make sure they went all the way down. It’s clear from the X-ray then and now that the area beneath the tooth is different; there’s more calcification. It is the very back molar so extraction would be less of a big deal. I think. I already feel better; he gave me a RX-strength Ibuprofen that is helping much more than the Vicodin did.</p>
<p>Hopefully the antibiotics take care of the infection.</p>
<p>It’s odd because I took OTC extra-strength ibuprofen instead of the prescribed Vicodin and that did a good job at getting rid of the pain. It’s counter-intuitive because ibuprofen isn’t an anti-inflammatory.</p>
<p>One of my other crowns (temporary) is showing some sensitivity to pressure. That one was a maybe for a root canal. It has a temp on it right now and the permanent is supposed to be ready next week. I’m hoping that something didn’t happen to require another root canal. I’d rather not have anymore. Ever.</p>
<p>Is your crown being sensitive to pressure a sign of underlying infection potentially or is it also possibly a sign of the general healing from your other root canal?</p>
<p>If there were an underlying infection, I would expect pain, similar to that of the tooth which had the root canal - that is a lot of pain most of the time. This tooth is on the other side of the mouth so I don’t think that it is related to the root canal. At the moment, I’m just careful with chewing on that side. The dentist’s office is closed this week though I did see the dentist last night at the gym. I didn’t talk to him though. The root canal crown should be back from the lab in about three weeks and we were going to do both permanent crowns then.</p>
<p>I may call next week to ask about the pain from pressure to see what he says. At the moment, it’s not enough of a problem to call while the office is closed. This crown/filling might have turned into a root canal but the decay hadn’t gone into the nerve so we didn’t do one (thankfully).</p>
<p>YDS, and BCE, sorry for your pain. Your complaints are why I say that I would rather have a baby than have dental work done. Unfortunately, there’s no ability to switch these things. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Yes, at the end of labor you have a child who will take care of you in your old age. At the end of a root canal, all you have is pain on the way to the poor house.</p>
<p>I just received the bills for the dental work not covered by insurance. I think that the running tab is about $3,000. Another filling next year and maybe a crown or onlay (crowns are $1,200, onlays about $300-$500). Our insurance does not cover crowns very well. Oh well, it’s only $$$$$.</p>
<p>Went yesterday to get two crowns put in. The Root Canal crown and the filling crown. They worked on the RC crown for a while and it wouldn’t fit so they did another fitting. Actually they did three or four of them. They were able to put the other one in without pain killers. I just endured the drilling. I need to go back for a small adjustment and there’s temp sensitivity but I understand that that is normal and should go away in a few days.</p>
<p>So another three weeks for another shot at the crown.</p>
<p>I’ve actually used to the temporary crown and it works just fine. I guess it isn’t sturdy enough for long-term use.</p>
<p>The crown is in but the dentist isn’t so I have an appointment next week to put in the crown for the root canal. In the meantime, the temporary crown has come off three times. They glued it back in twice and the third time I just put it back in myself. I take it out at night so that I don’t swallow it in my sleep. Just another six days. The temporary crown is actually perfect. I hope that the permanent crown works as well.</p>
<p>Three years ago I needed a root canal on a molar and my dentist referred me to an [Endodontist.](<a href=“http://dentistry.about.com/od/dentalfactsfaqs/f/endodontist.htm”>http://dentistry.about.com/od/dentalfactsfaqs/f/endodontist.htm</a>) I was apprehensive because of past root canals done by regular dentists, very painful. He took about twenty minutes for prep before I thought the real procedure would start. And then has said everything is done. I was finished. He went on to say that my tooth had five nerves as opposed to the regular four. I needed no post procedure pain meds. </p>
<p>Lesson learned: If you need a root canal, insist on being treated by an Endodontist.</p>
<p>Well, the temporary was fine when they removed it to install the permanent. It didn’t fit so they did fittings again and sent them out to the lab and put the old one back in. Once they come off, they don’t fit perfectly again. I could have asked them to make another temporary crown and that probably would have held but then I would have had to endure them taking it off again. They had to drill out the other one and I did it without anesthesia. I’ve spent so much time in the chair that I just wanted to get out of there.</p>